1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to child restraint anchorage systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to the following: a weld-on child restraint anchor, which preferably uses a vehicle""s parcel shelf box structure for attachment, an installation kit for installing a child restraint anchor system into a vehicle as part of the vehicle""s parcel shelf box, and to methods of using same.
2. Background Art
In accordance with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) 213 and 225, manufacturers of child restraints have begun producing a new generation of child safety seats, which attach to vehicles in a new way. These new safety seats include a top tether strap designed to improve seat stability and to reduce the potential for head injury. Beginning Sep. 1, 1999, vehicle manufacturers have equipped most new passenger cars (excluding convertibles), minivans, light trucks, and SUV""s with corresponding top tether strap anchorage attachments. With a new generation child seat, a consumer installs the seat in the rear seat of a vehicle using the seat belt to secure the bottom of the seat, and the child seat tether and tether hook to secure the top of the seat to the vehicle""s child anchor.
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, conventionally many vehicle manufacturers use a bolton style child anchor 2 that is secured with a bolt 4 to a child anchor weld nut 6, which nut is typically welded to a flange on a vehicle""s front stiffener panel 8 or a separate smaller bracket (not shown). The anchor 2 has an opening 14 to which a tether hook 24 of a child safety seat may be connected. This style of child anchor is relatively straight forward, but it has some disadvantages and inefficiencies associated with its use. For example, one disadvantage with the conventional arrangement of FIGS. 1, 2, is the time-consuming and awkward installation process. Installation of such arrangement occurs at the vehicle factory, and specifically it takes two workers approximately 45 seconds to install it at 3 seat locations, and installation requires the use of an anti-rotation jig to guarantee that the anchor is straight and facing forward. In a vehicle assembly line context, relative to its size and complexity, this is a time-consuming and awkward process.
The conventional design is also obtrusive in appearance, and can hinder easy tether hook attachment. To improve the appearance, a hinged tray cap 12 is often used to cover the bolt-on anchor when not in use. However, when in use the hinged cap is in an open position that exposes an undesirable portion of the body colored steel around the anchor, which is not otherwise covered by any cover panel, such as the panel 20. It is sometimes also difficult with this conventional design to install the tether hook 24 of a child safety seat (not shown), because the projecting head of the bolt 4 is disposed relatively close to the tether securing opening 14 in the projecting portion of the anchor.
Other known disclosures of mounting structures for seats exist, such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,157, but such mounting structures do not provide the anchoring necessary for restraint systems. Additionally, other various anchorage devices are known in the art for anchoring cargo and other materials, such as are disclosed in the following U.S. Pat. Nos.: 4,991,271; 4,842,458; 4,219,229; 4,072,113. These anchorage systems are far more complex and difficult to install than the present invention, are generally obtrusive, and are not designed to meet the strict government testing requirements required of anchors for safety restraints.
While numerous anchorage systems of various types exist, and in light of the new Federal Safety Standards, a need still exists for an improved anchorage system for a child safety seat having enhanced structural strength and reliability, but which is also economical to manufacture and install, convenient to use, and which also has an improved aesthetic appearance.
The present invention has been developed to overcome the foregoing limitations and disadvantages of known anchorage systems for child safety seats.
According to the invention there is provided a safety restraint anchoring device for use in a vehicle having a support panel, the assembly comprising:
an anchor plate having an opening defined therethrough, the plate being adapted to have multiple portions thereof fixed to the support panel; and
a rigid rod member connected to the anchor plate, the rod member having a loop shaped portion extending through the opening and projecting away from the plate, and the loop shaped portion being adapted to securely receive a child restraint attachment tether.
Such safety restraint anchoring device according to the invention is very advantageous in comparison to conventional anchoring devices for several reasons. One important advantage is that the anchoring device of the invention greatly reduces or even eliminates the undesirable moment that occurs at the point of attachment of the anchor plate in the conventional device as shown in FIGS. 1-2. Particularly, the connection of the rod member to the anchor plate and the connection of multiple portions of the anchor plate to the support panel permits the loop shaped portion to yield enough relative to the support panel that the ultimate force vector applied to the support panel when the tether pulls on the loop shaped portion is more parallel to the panel surface. Correspondingly, the anchoring device has greater reliability and durability than conventional designs.
Further, such anchoring device is much less expensive to manufacture and install because it has fewer components than the conventional designs, noting that the anchoring device includes only the anchor plate and bent rod which are connected to the vehicle, and because it can be easily installed outside of an assembly line environment.
Preferably, the anchor plate is welded to a lower surface of the support panel, while the loop shaped portion of the rod member extends through an opening defined in the support panel and projects away from the support panel when the anchor plate is fixed to the support panel such that said anchor plate is concealed from view within a passenger compartment of the vehicle beneath the support panel. This is desirable because the anchoring device does not detract from the appearance of the vehicle interior, i.e., the only nominally visible portion thereof is the projecting loop shaped portion of the rod member, and because there is no component of the anchoring device (such as the bolt head in the conventional device of FIGS. 1, 2) to interfere with connecting a tether to the loop shaped portion.
Also, it is preferred that the support panel includes a main panel and a stiffener connected thereto, and the anchor plate has one end thereof welded to the main panel and an opposite end thereof welded between portions of the main panel and the stiffener. These features are very advantageous because the anchoring device is very securely, yet easily connected to the support panel through the welds, essentially forming a strong front box section by the connected main panel, stiffener and anchor plate.
According to the present invention there is also provided a method for forming a child restraint anchor structure in a vehicle, comprising the following steps: forming a child restraint anchor assembly, including an anchor plate having an opening defined therein and a rod member fixedly attached to the underside of the anchor plate with a loop shaped portion extending through the hole; and fixing the anchor assembly to a support panel of a vehicle body having an opening formed therein such that the loop shaped portion of the rod member also extends through the opening in the support panel. The fixing step involves securing one end of the anchor plate to a portion of the support panel, and then securing an opposite end of the anchor plate to another portion of the support panel.
Again, such method according to the invention is relatively simple and economical to perform in comparison to conventional practices, and yet results in it a very strong and reliable anchor device as discussed above; it is preferred that the support panel includes a main panel and a stiffener connected thereto, while the anchor plate has one end thereof welded to the main panel and an opposite end thereof welded between portions of the main panel and the stiffener.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a safety restraint anchoring system for a vehicle which has a relatively simple construction, as well as excellent strength and reliability.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a system which is also easy and convenient to install.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a system which is inconspicuous and easy to use.
Other objects, advantages and salient features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which should be read in accordance with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the following description, like numbers refer to like parts.